1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to stands and supports for cut trees and other generally cylindrical objects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stands and supports for cut trees, especially Christmas trees, and other generally cylindrical objects is a crowded art. A myriad of designs are extant, none of which addresses simultaneously all the reasonable requirements of stability, ease of assembly, ease of use, safety in application, durability, ease and cost of manufacture, appealing appearance, and convenient storage.
In a relatively stable stand such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,026 to Hambrick (1971) we find a complex assemblage of components that does not appear to be easy to manufacture or use. In a design such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,382 to Anderson (1989) we find only the appearance of simplicity, the stand having multiply braced legs connected by pins to a formed bowl, an inadequate quantity of water to obviate frequent attention, no effective means for adjusting the vertically plumb orientation of the object supported, and poor storage characteristics. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,578 to Hanfeld (1981) we see again a relatively complex manufacture relying on tilting of the entire base assembly to adjust for vertical orientation, which compromises stability. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,471 to Moore (1987) we find a complex assemblage of parts, virtually no water reservoir capacity to keep a cut tree from becoming a fire hazard, and no adjustment for tilt. A simple design found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,295,802 to Leatherman (1967) requires the separate attachment of three parts to the object supported and makes no provision for adjusting the vertical orientation of less than perfectly straight cylinders or tree trunks.